***

Avoiding Areo’s watchful eye to make contact with the Emperor was almost impossible. Twice she had tried to linger at the spot where she had once encountered His Majesty, only to be caught both times. Each time, Areos flew into a rage. Afterwards, the maids were changed, the guards changed.

And, as before, she was confined to her room. It was a state of total isolation – even the maids were forbidden to enter. For a brief moment she considered ending her own life, but such a death felt too empty, too meaningless.

‘Not like this,’ she thought. ‘It can’t end like this.’

“Cyrene.”

Even at Areos’ call, she did not turn. He approached slowly, standing tall in front of her. His large hand gripped her chin and raised it.

“Why do you want to be Empress?”

“Because I want to kill Your Majesty.”

He laughed at the words. It was the first time she had spoken so honestly. Whether he thought it was a joke or took it seriously, she couldn’t tell.

“Do you think you could kill me if you became Empress?”

Instead of nodding, she lowered her eyes.

“I’ve done everything for you.”

“……”

“Then why?”

Her chin ached as if it were about to break.

“Why.”

Countless things were hidden in the one word she clenched between her teeth. Cyrene, on the other hand, wanted to ask. Really. Did Areos really not know enough to ask? Instead of answering, she lowered her eyes.

“You must marry the noble I’ve chosen for you, as planned.”

“I want to be Empress.”

A low curse was heard.

“No matter how much you suck and please my father’s c*ck, you won’t be able to kill me.”

“You never know. His Majesty the Emperor is such a lofty figure.”

“Hah. Do you think he’d kill his only heir just because of someone like you?”

“He will. Just as Your Highness said, by sucking and pleasing him.”

Cyrene responded calmly.

“There are many women like you around my father.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about, do you? Whether I suck the emperor’s c*ck or not. Urgh!”

Her head snapped to the side.

“Do you really think your efforts will make my father notice you?”

Cyrene stared at him calmly. Areos pressed his lips together and glared at her with an arrogant expression.

Slowly. Very slowly he sank to his knees.

“Cyrene.”

His forehead touched her lap.

“Fine. I was wrong. I’ll call off the marriage.”

“……”

“I’ll make you crown princess somehow. Even if it means killing those who oppose me.”

“……Let me meet His Majesty.”

“What are you planning to do once you meet him?”

“I only know how to do one thing, don’t I?”

She was well aware that she hadn’t learned much and that the only thing she excelled at was tensing her body. Areos gritted his teeth at her words.

“His Majesty. His Majesty. I don’t want to hear it.”

“Your Majesty… ugh… ugh…”

Lips were bitten hard, leaving the taste of metallic blood. Without any f*replay or preparation, the intercourse was violent and forceful. The sensation of something being forcibly thrust through unyielding flesh brought a moan.

“Ahhck!”

“Empress? Ha.”

Areos let out a mocking laugh, as if in utter despair.

“After all the trouble I went through to save you, you want to play the wh*re yourself?”

“Ugh… ngh…”

“If you need another man’s c*ck that badly, I’ll make sure you get as much as you want in a brothel.”

Cyrene stared up at him, panting, her golden eyes flashing with a hint of madness. The rough movements, more punitive than anything else, brought her more pain than pleasure.

“Hngh, ah!”

A sharp scream escaped her lips. She was beginning to think that if Areos was really going to leave her, she would be okay with it. She couldn’t help laughing. Cyrene found the twisted expression on the Crown Prince’s face utterly, utterly satisfying.

***

Sadly, Areos did not leave her. Even after days had passed, she wasn’t taken anywhere.

She lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. All she could do was roll her eyes or pace the room.

Perhaps it was because she brought up His Majesty the Emperor every time they saw each other, but Areos made sure to silence her from the moment he entered. He stuffed a handkerchief in her mouth to stop her from speaking, as if the only thing he needed was her body, forcing her legs apart and thrusting himself inside.

“I don’t know anymore.”

What was she going to do? She closed her eyes. She wanted to dream of Illion, but he no longer appeared even in her dreams. Memories that weren’t real became more and more blurred and the happy days she had spent with Illion faded away.

Areos did nothing. He did not marry her off to another noble, abandon her in a brothel, or truly offer her to his father. Having given her so willingly to countless others, he now grew angry when Cyrene showed interest in someone else.

It felt as if everything had stagnated, decayed – her memories, her emotions, all of it. She blinked slowly.

“Come to think of it, I once had Illion’s child.”

A small laugh escaped her lips. In a dream, she had been overjoyed to hear that she was pregnant. The memory of that moment brought a gentle smile to her face, but sadness quickly followed.

For it had all been a dream.

“Ugh…”

She bit her lip hard. If only it had been the other way round. If things with Areos had been the dream, she could have woken up to Illion’s gentle touch, leaning against him with playful complaints.

She buried her face in the pillow. An untouchable, fleeting heaven. A sky she could never return to, never even look at again.

She feared that if she cried, her memories would be washed away with her tears. Cyrene bit her lip hard. How long had she been lying there, breathing and doing nothing? The door opened and Areos entered.

That alone wouldn’t have made her look, but another presence caught her attention. She lifted her head to see a stranger standing frozen behind him.

“Check her.”

“Understood.”

The man approached slowly, as if informed in advance of his task. For a moment she wondered if this was someone she was meant to sleep with, then she realised that it had been a long time since Areos had given her to another man.

The stranger examined Cyrene’s body carefully, his touch cautious and methodical.

“I’m told it’s been quite some time since your last menstruation.”

“……”

Had it been that long? She couldn’t remember. Considering how often she’d had s*x with Areos, it seemed possible that she hadn’t bled for some time.

‘I’m sure it’s not pregnancy.’

She wanted what had happened in the dream to remain a dream. She remembered vividly how happy she’d been at the thought of having Illion’s child.

“You are indeed pregnant.”

“Is that so?”

Areos replied indifferently.

‘Yes, but…’

The man hesitated, his words trailing off. His lips moved as if carefully choosing his next statement, before speaking carefully.

“It would have been about the time the civil war broke out.”

“Stop giving her tea and it will happen quickly. Understood.”

Areos waved his hand dismissively, as if annoyed, and the man quickly fled the room. Cyrene absentmindedly put her hand to her stomach. It was around this time, she remembered, that she had been told she was carrying a child.

And that child had been Illion’s. But now she was pregnant again, just like before.

‘Could it be?’

Had the child she’d dreamed of giving birth to – the one she’d been so happy about – been Areo’s all along? The thought made her stomach churn. The joy she’d felt in the dream was crushed under the weight of this cruel reality.

The child from her dream, so precious and beloved, now turned out to be the Crown Prince’s. The disgust was unbearable. The once adorable child now seemed horrible.

“Ugh…”

She covered her mouth with her hand. As her face turned pale and she leaned forward, Areos sat beside her and rubbed her back lightly.

“So it’s true. You’re pregnant.”

She didn’t want it. That was her only thought. Illion’s child should never have been allowed to live once its existence had been discovered, so why should she give birth to Areos’? Cyrene’s hand brushed over her belly again. She wished it would just go away.

“If it’s my child, it’ll probably be adorable.”

She didn’t even want to think about the dream. How much she had loved and cherished that child. Cyrene pressed her fist gently to her belly.

If the child understood a mother’s heart, it would simply die. Areos laughed, pleased.

“Since it is my child, I will take you as my crown princess.”

“……”

“You can be even happier.”

She stared into the Crown Prince’s face. The child from her dream – Illion had always loved how much the child resembled her, but now that she thought about it, the child had looked a lot like Areos.

She felt utterly miserable. Not even in her dreams could she give birth to a true child of Illion. A whirlwind of emotions tore through her. Even the happy memories proved to be false.

“Cyrene.”

She lifted her head. Crown Princess? The thought brought her no joy. If anything, the idea of being at the Emperor’s side instead would have been less horrifying.

“If there’s anything you want, I’ll grant it. Consider it a wedding gift.”

Areos smiled broadly, seemingly genuinely pleased. His golden eyes sparkled with genuine joy. He gently moved her fist away and placed his hand on her stomach, his touch impossibly soft.

“Let me meet His Majesty the Emperor.”

At her words, Areos hand froze, turning rigid.

“You want my father so badly?”

“……”

“Is it because you think you can kill me this way?”

He laughed sharply.

“Or is it that you really want to lie with my father? Or do you really want to go to a brothel?”

Cyrene said nothing, just stared at him. Areos rose from his seat and Cyrene watched as he backed away. A creeping sense of fear began to take hold.